Wood Co. villages to install pipeline for cleaner water

May 11, 2012 at 7:31 PM EST - Updated June 27 at 3:03 AM

CUSTAR, OH (Toledo News Now) - The goal of an upcoming plan to install a water pipeline is to get clean water for nearly 200 residents in southern Wood County. The pipeline would run through Custar and Milton Center.

This project has been on the table for nearly 10 years. It is finally becoming a reality. Residents from the villages of Custar and Milton Center said it is about time.

The water looks fine, but people who live in Custar said appearances can be deceiving.

"The water here in Custar is very hard, with a lot of - from what I understand - calcium and magnesium deposits. A lot of scaling on your appliances and your plumbing fixtures," said Linda Bechstein, mayor of Custar.

The mayor said that will change with the new water pipeline, and not a moment too soon. Currently, people have to pay to soften their water, which quickly ruins appliances and often is unsafe to drink.

People who live in the area said they have had to rely on alternative methods of getting clean drinking water.

"I have well water at my house and it's not safe to drink because of the fertilizer runoff in the fields. So we have to come to the watershed to get it, and it's getting expensive. So it would be nice to have water from the faucet," said Bradley Simonson, a Custar resident.

Project planners said the water system will help the community financially. Residents will no longer need to pay to soften the water and both villages will have grants for the pipeline itself.

"That, applied to the project, probably makes it one of the most affordable water projects we have built here in Wood County. I have not seen a project with that much funding in it," said William Barber, a Northwestern Water and Sewer District engineer.

The village also hopes the new system will attract more businesses to the area.

"We'd hope for a little more economic development. We've lost a few homes in the area, like a lot of communities have seen that happen and then they come into disrepair. So we hope to have a little revitalization," said Barber.